Published on July 29th, 2011 | Jonny Abrams

NewTube: Noel Gallagher, Hyde & Beast, Psychologist, Kap Bambino, The 2 Bears, Bachelorette, The Drums

Slow day at the office? Jonesing for some Friday frivolity? Join Rocksucker in gorging yourselves on the brand new aural/visual delights that constitute our inaugural NewTube: a week’s worth of marvelous music videos for your delectation…

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – “The Death of You and Me”

(see above for video)

This stately march of a song, which lies somewhere between “The Importance of Being Idle” and “Half the World Away”, will be released on August 22nd on Sour Mash Records.

Quite what the lovely lass in the video did to deserve getting pushed into a swimming pool is anyone’s guess but, such japery aside, this instantly loveable and surprisingly instrumentally colourful number is a tantalising taster for the eponymous album, which sees the light of day on October 17th.

For more information, please visit noelgallagher.com

Hyde & Beast – “Never Come Back”

An old muso joke holds it that the last thing a drummer will say in a band is: “Hey guys, I have an idea!” Well, on this evidence, maybe we should hear the hyperactive nutters out. A collaboration between two sticksmen – namely Dave Hyde of The Futureheads and Neil Bassett, formerly of fellow Sunderland outfit The Golden Virgins – this sunny slice of brass-accompanied psych-pop comes out August 8th on their very own Tail Feather Records label. It also bodes really rather well for the album Slow Down, which will be released the following week.

Click here to read Rocksucker’s interview with Hyde & Beast and here to watch behind the scenes footage showing the making of the “Never Come Back” video.

For more information, please visit hydeandbeast.co.uk

Psychologist – “Propeller”

Looking like a member of Kraftwerk yet with a voice that sounds oddly like Laurie Anderson, Psychologist – or Iain Woods to his friends – very much puts the ‘psycho’ in his nom de plume. This video is every bit as fantastically creepy as the song itself, with three Psychologists snarling and hissing the song’s overlapping vocal lines at each other like three rather pissed off serpents.

We’re pretty sure we heard him sing the line “I hear the lifespan of a horse is 33 to 40 years” at one point; all in all, the contrast with the tender piano emoting of his previous Waves of OK EP could barely be more stark. Suffice to say, we like the cut of Psychologist’s jib, and so will you if the phrase ‘bleepy horror soundtrack’ piques your curiosity.

The Propeller EP comes out on August 15th on Not Even/Moshi Moshi Records.

For more information, please visit psychologistmusic.com

Kap Bambino – “Obsess”

Another somewhat sinister song/video combination, this rushing, whirring, drilling, discordantly melodic synthpunk number is nevertheless brilliant. The Carl Burgess-directed video is a feast, as we are treated to a woman taking a pie in the face, a man taking a bite out of a champagne flute, a cooked breakfast on fire, an expensive-looking cake getting squashed by a high-heeled shoe…and more besides.

Bordeaux duo Kap Bambino have been going since 2001 and this, with any luck, will help break them on these shores. Well, enough things get broken in the video. “Obsess” is out now on Because Music, home to the likes of Charlotte Gainsbourg, Metronomy, Mr Oizo and Manu Chao, while an as-yet-unnamed album has been tentatively penned in for an October release.

For more information, please visit kap-bambino.com

The 2 Bears – “Bear Hug”

Now things get really daft. DJ Raf Rundell and Hot Chip founding member Joe Goddard are the ursines in question and this riot of a video sees them as guests on a fictional morning TV magazine called Sunrise – with suitably cringe-worthy presenters and, for some reason, set on a boat – in order to “highlight the tragic plight of bears”. (As far as we can tell, we are not told what this plight is.)

The song itself is also a blast, a jerky disco affair featuring a bass voice imploring us to “do the Bear Hug” and even, at one point, to Rocksucker’s great delight, using the word “chirpse”.

We’re not being sniffy when we say that this could be the next ironic dance floor smash; indeed, just take your lead from the video’s insanely smiley dance troupe. This is both tremendous fun and out now on Southern Fried Records.

For more information, please visit the2bears.co.uk

Bachelorette – “Blanket”

A wonderfully trippy video for a trippily wonderful song. Bachelorette is New Zealand’s Annabel Alpers, who it seems is a few albums into her career, thus putting Rocksucker to shame by dint of the fact that we hadn’t really known of her prior to this.

We’re glad we’ve found her; not only is this a kaleidoscopic joy both aurally and visually (the latter courtesy of Steve Grisé), but it also makes us want to coin the term ‘fizztronica’. Can we claim that for ourselves? Anyway, “Blanket” features on Bachelorette’s new self-titled LP, which is out now on Drag City/Particle Tracks.

For more information, please visit myspace.com/bachelorettepop

The Drums – “Money”

“I want to buy you something but I don’t have any money” – a simple sentiment, delivered so damn catchily. Singer Jonny Pierce may resemble Gareth from The Office in this M Blash-directed video but his ability to flit in between a Julian Casablancas croon and fluttery falsetto marks him out as a star in the making.

“Money” comes out on September 5th, to be swiftly followed by the Brooklyners’ second album Portamento a week later, both on Moshi Moshi/Island.

For more information, please visit thedrums.com

Artists: bachelorette, hot chip, hyde and beast, kap bambino, noel gallagher, noel gallagher's high flying birds, psychologist, the 2 bears, the drums, the futureheads, the golden virgins

About the Author

Jonny Abrams Editor of Rocksucker and the website's founder, Jonny is passionate about the music he listens to, both good and bad, as well as interviewing his favourite musicians.